Office of the City Manager

Public Invited to Panel Discussion Sept. 19 on Health Care Act

PUBLIC INVITED TO PANEL DISCUSSION ON HEALTH CARE ACT SEPT. 19, 2013

PASADENA, Calif.—The public is invited to participate in a panel discussion Sept. 19, 2013 about the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed in 2010.The public will be able to learn about the impacts that ACA is having on how health care will be delivered beginning next year.

The panel discussion—entitled “Affordable Care Act: Triumphs, Challenges, and the Local Response”—will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 19 in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at the Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut St.

KPAS, the City’s government cable access TV station, will record the event for broadcast on KPAS, seen on Channel 3 for Cox subscribers and Channel 99 for AT&T U-Verse subscribers.The program also will be streamed on the “media” page of the City’s website, www.cityofpasadena.net/media, and on the KPAS website at www.pasadenamedia.tv/kpas

If you are unable to join the discussion Sept. 19 or watch any of the broadcasts, a second panel discussion covering the same topics will be held at the same location with the same panelists from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24.

The discussions are part of an overall effort by the City and community organizations working together to ensure Pasadena residents understand the ACA and are prepared for the changes and the resources that will soon become available. The local efforts are being announced under a collaborative effort known as Covered Pasadena, building upon the statewide effort, Covered California.

Dr. Eric Walsh, Director of the Pasadena Public Health Department and the City’s Health Officer, will provide important background information about health care reform, challenges that the law creates and what is happening in Pasadena to help the law work best for residents.

Dr. Walsh will be joined by Steven Abramson, Marketing Manager of CHAPCare, who will discuss Medi-Cal Expansion and the State Marketplace Exchange (Covered California); Rosalie Garcia, Executive Director at URDC Human Services Corporation (Bill Moore Health Clinic), who will address the need to provide health care services for those who do not qualify for insurance; and Mary Donnelly-Crocker, Executive Director of Young & Healthy, who will review available community resources and assistance to implement health reform in Pasadena.

There will be ample opportunity to ask questions or share concerns about the ACA.

For more than 120 years, the Pasadena Public Health Department has worked to promote and protect the health of the Pasadena community. For more information on these events, contact (626) 744-6076 or visit www.cityofpasadena.net/PublicHealth.For more information about the ACA in California, visit www.coveredca.com.

For more information about the City of Pasadena, visit www.cityofpasadena.net. Follow the City on Twitter @PasadenaGov.